Get Sideways

The first step of the overhead is very similar to the pivot and shoulder turn for a forehand or backhand groundstroke. What you are trying to do is get your body sideways as soon as you realize that you’re getting an overhead and not a volley.

At 0:20 in the video above I am shadowing the overhead, and the very first thing I’m going to do is get my body sideways. The other thing that happens when I turn sideways is that I get my body into a position that looks very similar to the trophy pose on the serve. I have my racket and my hitting arm behind me in the “L position” with the racket pointed up at the sky. My tossing arm is extended up in the air, but unlike on the serve it is pointed at the oncoming tennis ball and not straight up. The reason I point at the ball is because it will help me to judge and time my shot later in the swing.

Let’s now take a look at a live hitting clip, at 1:00 in the video above. As soon as I realize that I am hitting an overhead, the very first thing I do is turn my body sideways. I then get my hitting arm and racket into the “L position” like I would on a serve, and I point my non-hitting hand at the tennis ball. Again, this position looks very similar to the trophy pose on the serve.

Let’s look at this step from the back. At 1:25, Adam is feeding the tennis ball to me and as soon as he hits a lob my body turns sideways, my racket and arm come into the “L position,” and I point at the ball for judgment and timing.

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Before the course, my serve speed was at maximum 85 mph. After the course, I am serving around an incredible 105 mph. Before, I was suffering with a shoulder injury that was causing a lot of pain. After a couple hours of training, now I’m serving 20 mph faster, and I have no shoulder pain!

Heitor’s FeedbackHeitor Durate from Brazil

My serve speed increased from 80 to 102 mph. Before taking the course my biggest serve challenge was getting the ball to drop down into the service box when I tried to serve hard. Dr. Kovacs demonstrated how to generate power using the lower body and how to transfer that power up through the body to the ball. Now the ball explodes off my racket and consistently spins down into the service box with room to spare.

Perry Long’s FeedbackPerry Long From Toledo

Bob, Mike and Will's course really revealed the secrets to successful doubles play at the rec level. The drills are all designed to develop consistency and reduce on-court errors. Once in a match situation, Bob and Mike show you the keys to good court positioning, positive partner to partner communication, and the proper match mindset. These things have helped me up my USTA playing level on the doubles court. p.s. Plus it's so amusing to watch Bob and Mike work on court with Will, who looks like he could be their kid brother (ha ha!). Will's the best and his courses are always first rate!

John Malanga’s FeedbackJohn Malanga

The Fuzzy Yellow Balls course with the Bryan Bros has been the single biggest factor in my rise as a doubles player. Within the last three years I went from line 3 on the 4th team in our club to line 2 on the top team in the club, in the best league in the county. It is hard to improve your stroke play very significantly, but you can dramatically improve your mental game vs. your opponents. Most of them don't know they can learn more about the game. The Bryan Bros course is my secret weapon, really practical advice, from the top doubles team of all time. And, it is very easy to learn the way Will edits the course into 10 or 15 minute videos. Watch one a day and you're win percentage will go way up.

Jay Berkowitz’s FeedbackJay Berkowitz

About Fuzzy Yellow Balls

Fuzzy Yellow Balls was co-founded in 2007 by Will Hamilton and Adam Sieminski, with the dream of creating the ultimate destination for recreational players seeking the highest quality instruction from the biggest names in the game.

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